LOS ANGELES — The Knicks might as well have been on the famed Venice Beach playground courts Thursday.

Arriving early in Los Angeles for their four-game road trip, the Knicks staged an unstructured practice at UCLA and let the players essentially scrimmage without coaching or critiques or stoppages. It allowed for a free-flowing workout with a pickup-game-on-the-playgrounds feel. It wasn’t exactly a practice out of “Wizard of Westwood” John Wooden’s playbook.

The run-and-gun affair was a result of having three straight days off after Monday’s Golden State loss and enduring a rigorous practice Wednesday after which the team flew cross-country.

And lest we forget, the Knicks, losers in 10 of their last 11 games, are now playing out the string with 20 games left, facing the Clippers at Staples Center on Friday.

The players essentially picked their own sides and had fun.

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“They get coaching every day and all kinds of drills,’’ Hornacek said. “This scrimmage we had old playground rules. Whoever makes a shot, they’re on. Once they play, winner stays on. They got to pick their own guy to fill in.

“We had a good hard practice [Wednesday]. This is one of those times you have three days off and still want to play and get up and down. They got competitive. When you just scrimmage, it’s playing out the practice. Here they wanted to beat each other.”

It may be just a one-time thing, but Kyle O’Quinn appreciated the diversion.

“We have 20 games left, we want to get better and keep it easy going,’’ O’Quinn said. “Coaches made it playground style, pickup and was fun. Coaches need to develop, players need to develop but keep it at ease.’’

Tim Hardaway Jr. has essentially emerged from his horrific seven-game shooting slump before the All-Star break. Though he shot poorly against Golden State on Monday, Hardaway has played well in three of the past four contests.

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Hardaway, who missed six weeks with what he once referred to as a stress fracture, is probably going to be the No. 1 scoring option without Kristaps Porzingis entering next season, too.

“Earlier in the season, he was playing really well,’’ Hornacek said. “After being out that long, it was tough to get back into it. It took him a few games. He’s back to playing well. He’s got great confidence in his shooting. It’s not just his shooting. He’s active defensively, doing all the rotations. To be a No. 2 guy, he’s got to come off pick and rolls and be able to make plays for guys. He goes hard, penetrates, not afraid to dish it to the corner. He’ll continue to develop into it.”

Rebounding hasn’t been an issue this season. The Knicks are fifth in the NBA in offensive-rebounding percentage at 24.6 percent and seventh in total rebounding percentage at 51.2 percent. … The Knicks’ 107-85 victory over the Clippers on Nov. 20 at the Garden snapped a 10-game losing streak against Los Angeles, which is a half-game out of the eighth seed in the Western Conference.